The Rover p5 thread has been quite good, so I have created this thread about the Citroen DS in general. The DS is a very polarizing car, so this thread will not be for everyone. But for those who are interested I'll try and post from time to time about the DS and also my car.

I got a reminder mailer today from the Citroen Club about the 'Cit in' event. This is basically the annual event for the regional Citroen clubs to get together. I've never been, but had a quick look at the site and noticed that my car is in the banner:

Try not to castigate me Bryce .. but I had thought about an early DS, probably in the sixties. But I was not impressed by the coarseness of the 4 Cyl Engine.
Morris Minors were designed to have a Boxer Engine instead of the ancient 4 cyl Side Valve they got. Was this also the case with the DS ???
$$$$$$$ shortage ??

Try not to castigate me Bryce .. but I had thought about an early DS, probably in the sixties. But I was not impressed by the coarseness of the 4 Cyl Engine.
Morris Minors were designed to have a Boxer Engine instead of the ancient 4 cyl Side Valve they got. Was this also the case with the DS ???
$$$$$$$ shortage ??

Yes the engine was always the perceived weak point of the car and throughout its almost 20 year run they were trying to wring more power out of it.

The DS was supposed to have a flat six. It would have fit well under the low bonnet. However the prototypes did not produce sufficient power and were problematic. They ran out of time and money so in the end put a hemi head on the old traction avant long stroke four. Originally about 75hp if I recall. 1911cc and over time power grew through compression, carburation etc.

Later, in the mid 60ís the block was updated to the short stroke five bearing block. This was available in 20xxcc, 2175cc and 2347cc. The latter two sizes being available with Djet as an option. This was a big improvement, but the car was still considered under powered by many. The DS23ie had around 140hp gross. My DS21 has about 115hp gross. I would describe the power as adequate. The engine is a bit coarse and unrefined but much better than the old long stroke unit.

Personally I think an engine along the lines of the Daimler 2.5 v8 would have been a great match and still fit in with French tax law making engines 2.8l and above uneconomic.

I would adore a DS, a CX or an XM but alas I have enough litres to drain the piggy bank and not enough hours in the day to do justice to them all. I have looked seriously at several CX and XM but each had enough in the way of problems to scare me off and so I found the 306 GTi 6 which is shaping up to be an almost completed project. I hear on the grapevine of a low kms XM that belongs to an elderly gentleman who has just given up driving so maybe there is some possibility there.
By all means a DS thread is an excellent one to have.
Regards,
Brian

I would adore a DS, a CX or an XM but alas I have enough litres to drain the piggy bank and not enough hours in the day to do justice to them all. I have looked seriously at several CX and XM but each had enough in the way of problems to scare me off and so I found the 306 GTi 6 which is shaping up to be an almost completed project. I hear on the grapevine of a low kms XM that belongs to an elderly gentleman who has just given up driving so maybe there is some possibility there.
By all means a DS thread is an excellent one to have.
Regards,
Brian

The later big citroens are all under appreciated.. Even the more recent C6 was a lovely design even though I hear electrics let it down. Not easy to find nice CX or XM, so if you find one, jump on it!

These cars have a dedicated following and are quite different to the later DS like mine. For starters they have the old brake fluid hydraulics which means they don't respond well to being left unused. They have a detuned version of the long stroke DS19 engine so acceleration is slow but they can maintain a pace near their top speed all day. We have a good survival rate of these old ID19s in Australia.

From the photos I would say most likely yes. I like this car but it’s a very odd choice for a museum car as practically nothing is original. For example there is a very original looking DS23ie BVA car for sale that may be more representative of a DS. Ideally you would want a late 50s DS19 for a museum but there are only a handful in Australia and they are tightly held. The other good one for an Australian museum is one of our own Australian built ID19 Parisienne's.

From the photos I would say most likely yes. I like this car but itís a very odd choice for a museum car as practically nothing is original. For example there is a very original looking DS23ie BVA car for sale that may be more representative of a DS. Ideally you would want a late 50s DS19 for a museum but there are only a handful in Australia and they are tightly held. The other good one for an Australian museum is one of our own Australian built ID19 Parisienne's.

Ah yes; but is it a museum that sells a few cars or a car sale yard that has a bit of a museum? Try the latter for size I believe.
Regards,
Brian